STATS: De Guzman’s passing for Swansea vs Rodriguez’s shooting for Southampton
Swansea v Southampton, 15:00
– Swansea battled back to earn a 2-2 draw with Norwich last time out, Luke Moore’s goal earning Michael Laudrup’s side the point.
– Michu will be looking to enhance his now glowing reputation before the end of the season by adding to his already impressive total of 17 goals. The Spaniard has a distinct ability to fashion shooting positions that Southampton defenders must be aware of this weekend and they will certainly be trying to curb his current rate of a shot on goal once every 29.8 minutes.
– Look for Jonathan de Guzman to be involved should Michu register yet another goal against Southampton. The Canadian midfielder has a squad-high 7 assists and is consistently involved in their play going forward, amassing another squad-high of 742 passes in the opponent’s half.
– Young Ben Davies continues to impress this season, especially for one who only recently made the step up to first team football. Davies remains Swansea’s best defender this term, racking up a tackle success rate of 70.3% according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
– Southampton inched closer to securing their Premier League status for next season with a 1-1 draw with West Ham last time out.
– With England still lacking a reliable source of goals in recent fixtures, Rickie Lambert may well be expecting the national side to come calling should he keep up the form he has demonstrated this season. Lambert has transitioned to Premier League football with ease, his 14 goals and Southampton squad-high 77 attempts on goal testament to that fact.
– Striker Jay Rodriguez is another who may have surprised many with his ability and confidence at Premier League level. Yet the elusive forward has the best minutes-to-shot on target ratio of any Southampton player, registering one on average once every 49.2 minute he’s been on the field this season.
– Morgan Schneiderlin again remains atop the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index for total tackles attempted this season with 136. Southampton will need his energy and industry in a midfielder packed with slick Swansea passers.